Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 113-98 road loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
1. It’s hard to know what to make of this year’s Cavs. It’s hard to know what the future holds — both the immediate, and for the long term.
2. We will surely know more after the March 25 trade deadline. At least, we think we will.
3. It is safe to assume Andre Drummond will no longer be a member of the organization. The Cavs want to trade hi. Everyone else around the league thinks that will be incredibly difficult, given the fact Drummond is due to make $28.7 million this season.
4. How do you possibly trade that contract when the entire world knows you want it gone?
5. That’s what the Detroit Pistons asked themselves last season before trading Drummond to the Cavs. It also why the Pistons basically gave Drummond to the Cavs for nothing.
6. So what can the Cavs realistically expect in return for Drummond? Yeah. Probably nothing.
7. Anyway, let’s not focus on that too much. Let’s at least touch on the here and now. Unfortunately, that too is more or less a mystery.
8. Is Collin Sexton a No. 1 option on a winning team? Is Darius Garland the Point Guard of the Future? Is Isaac Okoro just suffering a major case of the rookie blues — or is he going to be a player who’s just sort of out there for his entire career?
9. These are the type of questions that surround a team that has lost four straight and very well could again miss the playoffs without LeBron James on the team. And heck, the NBA even expanded the playoffs to 10 teams in each conference with a play-in tournament.
10. Those are all questions about the future. We won’t know the answers for some time. But want to know what’s questionable about the past and present? Great. Let’s revisit.
11. At the beginning of the 2019-20 season, the Cavs parted ways with J.R. Smith. They paid him — but Smith and the Cavs agreed not to stay together. They also fired coach Tyronn Lue after six games. They then didn’t re-sign Larry Drew, Lue’s replacement. Then they hired John Beilein. He barely made it half a season. Yet he is still likely on the payroll.
12. This year, the Cavs benched Kevin Porter Jr. Some of it may have been deserved — though we don’t really know why. Then they traded Porter to the Houston Rockets, for basically nothing. And now we have the Drummond ordeal. Like Smith, the Cavs are paying Drummond not to play.
13. Now, not all of this is entirely the fault of the front office. But at least some of it is. If you want to build “culture” and stability, well, you’re not exactly off to a phenomenal start. Instead, it’s been closer to a three-ring circus.
14. Along with that, the Cavs have picked up five first-round picks over the previous three seasons, including three between Nos. 5 and 8 overall. It’s too soon to accurately critique those players. It’s too soon to place any blame on coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who is always grounded and admired by the team. And there’s no need to replace general manager Koby Altman.
15. But at some point, and soon, it will be fair to say this isn’t heading in the right direction. Again, now may not be that time. That said, it’s also OK to feel that the foundation may be being built on shaky ground. When that is the case, more moves are sure to be made. That’s just the way things work in the big leagues.
16. Presumably, what happens at the trade deadline should tell us a more. So should what happens with Drummond this season, and Kevin Love the next. The Cavs (14-25) could also move some of their “role” players — Cedi Osman, Taurean Prince and even rookie Dylan Windler.
17. On the bright side, they are returning home for four straight games. Young players tend to play better at home. That is also true of older veterans — but it’s especially the case with young players. What matters here is that the Cavs start showing the scrappiness and determination they displayed at the start of the season. They need to compete. They need to be an “annoyance” to their opponent, as Bickerstaff once suggested he wanted them to do.
18. Bottom line: The Cavs have lost what was working at the beginning of the season. And if they don’t rediscover it here soon, it will take more than just another lottery pick to come in and save the day.
